Vol. 474 No. 2
16 Miss de Valera asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the schedule for the implementation of the commitment in Partnership 2000 of a total involvement of £500 million; the reason there was no allocation in this regard or for the tourism brand Ireland campaign in the 1997 budget; the amounts of funds available in 1997 for the campaign; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2616/97]
The tourism investment referred to in Partnership 2000 relates primarily to the Operational Programme for Tourism 1994-1999 which will, it is expected, result in total investment of more than £650 million over the life of the programme. The actual schedule of expenditure under the programme depends, inter alia, on the pace of public and private sector investment. To date, the pace of expenditure on product development has been somewhat slower than originally anticipated but the marketing and training sub-programmes are proceeding in line with the provisions of the operational programme. I am confident that the full investment of £650 million envisaged in the operational programme and as set out in the following tabular statement will be achieved by the end of 1999.
As I have indicated on previous occasions, Bord Fáilte, as part of its day to day marketing and promotional activity, is responsible for managing tourism brand Ireland, including the monitoring of its costs and the sourcing of funding for the project.
Operational Programme for Tourism 1994-1999 Allocation of European Regional Development Fund-ESF Assistance by Sub-Programme (IR£Million)
|
Sub-Programme One |
Sub-Programme Two |
Sub-Programme Three |
Sub-Programme Four |
Sub-Programme Five |
Total |
Total |
|
|
Natural/Cultural Tourism |
Product Development |
Marketing |
Training |
Technical Assistance |
ERDF |
Investment |
|
|
1994 |
9.839 |
1.526 |
9.502 |
13.304 |
0.202 |
34.37 |
59.47 |
|
1995 |
16.565 |
4.338 |
8.343 |
12.698 |
0.606 |
42.55 |
72.85 |
|
1996 |
20.505 |
24.092 |
8.343 |
13.980 |
0.606 |
67.53 |
109.76 |
|
1997 |
17.613 |
30.119 |
8.575 |
13.980 |
0.606 |
70.89 |
125.47 |
|
1998 |
13.673 |
34.643 |
8.343 |
14.260 |
0.606 |
71.53 |
134.35 |
|
1999 |
15.746 |
43.795 |
7.880 |
14.260 |
0.404 |
82.09 |
148.78 |
|
Total |
93.941 |
138.513 |
50.986 |
82.482 |
3.030 |
368.95 |
651.67 |
